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I’m hoping that with the holiday season almost at it’s peak, we will all soon be able to do a little more selfish knitting, or maybe indulge in some new year projects? This month’s sponsors have a whole host of beautiful new yarns and patterns that would be perfect for trying something new. And we have some new sponsors as well, they might be new to you and have just the sort of thing you’ve been looking for!
Name: Bijou Basin Ranch
What They Are All About: Eileen and Carl have a family Yak ranch in Colorado (doesn’t that sounds amazing?!) Working with the fiber from both their animals on site and speciality fibers from around the world, they sell amazing yarn, both 100% yak and blended with other fibers (like bamboo or merino) to lend strength and variety. Lately they have been partnering with some amazing indie dyers for unique and exclusive custom colourways, which are pretty spectacular. Plus- they are offering free shipping on all orders when you use the coupon code “KNITBLISS” at checkout!
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: I recently used the Xanadu 100% cashmere for my new cowl pattern, and it’s heavenly to work with, and very reasonably priced. They have lovely colours that all work well together- I chose natural and mocha for my cowl, but I was very tempted by this perfect shade of gray. As for patterns, this stunning asymmetrical cardigan by Kate Oates is a perfect mix of pretty and modern, and is exclusive to Bijou Basin Ranch. And one of their lovely custom colourways from Lattes & Llamas- Coastal Breeze, which is the Lhasa Wilderness fingering weight yak/bamboo blend.
Name: Knittin’ Little
What They Are All About: earlier this year, Andrea Sanchez launched Knittin’ Little, which features adorable knits for kids from 15 collection, 6 patterns that feature an assortment of garments and accessories, most of which are easily made for either boys or girls. I’ll pick my fave 3 from the collection to review here, but if you ever knit for kids, it’s worth checking out the site- they also have a book club that features kids books with knitting themes, and the blog often features round ups like this free kids sock pattern round up.
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: The texture-rich pullover O-Sharay by Ayako Monier is in sizes from toddler to 12 years of age and would be wonderful on a boy or a girl (or knit in a gender neutral colour, and you could have both older and younger siblings wear it as they grow). The colourwork on Locksley (designed by Emily Ringleman) is fantastic, and is sized from 6 months-12 years. Then my personal favourite from the collection is this freaking adorable skunk scarf by Noel Margaret, which features a great little cable down the back, and is definitely the kind of fun scarf that kids would adore.
Name: Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts
What They Are All About: The team at AAFC dye a huge array of both tonal and variegated colourways available in a wide choice of yarn bases (most from chunky to laceweight, plus a variety of fiber bases within each weight), specializing in the Meow Collection and Woof Collection, which are colourways inspired by cat and dog breeds and a portion of the sales are donated to Best Friends Animal Society to help animals in need. If you are a pet lover, I bet there is a colourway that matches your furry friend!
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: From the Woof Collection, this is Border Collie, a perfect white and black mix and is available in DK, sportweight, fingering and laceweight. Then we have Shasta Cat (you can read the story of the Shasta Cat colourway here), a lovely grey and peachy cream mix (available in DK, sportweight, and fingering weight). And one of their variegated colourways- this is Mineral, a rainbow of rich hues that make me think of semiprecious gems.
Name: Biscotte Yarns
What They Are All About: Biscotte Yarns specialize in self striping yarns with lots of fun inspiration, but they have all sorts of goodies on offer- fabrics, project bags and kits, patterns, and tonal single ply yarns, as well as a mystery club!
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: The Chevalier self striping sock yarn (435 yds, 85% superwash merino, 15% nylon for strength) is a lovely wash of greyish blues and greens. I love this kit which includes a mystery sock pattern, as well as an awesome project bag and a self striping yarn in the ‘Carousel’ colourway. And how fun are the pink striped cats on the project bag?! Then there is the pretty self striping sock in ‘A Moi le Coco’ (435 yds, 85% superwash merino, 15% nylon for strength), a pretty mix of aqua, green, and deep pink. And don’t just think ‘socks’ when you see self striping- these would also make lovely shawls, cowls, mitts and more!
Name: Fuzzy Mitten
What She is All About: Barbara designs the most adorable knitted animal toys, and has patterns for all sorts of clothing for them, too! They are great value, as every pattern comes with instructions for more than just the animal- there’s always something for them to wear, or an accessory or two. I’m currently knitting her Fudge the Dog pattern, and loving it!
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: This martial arts-loving red panda was the most recent mystery toy knit along in the Fuzzy Mitten Ravelry group, and it was so fun to see it take shape and red everyone’s guesses. The there are the Sasquatch and Yeti, big and cuddly softies perfect for hugging and even come with the pattern for the little hat and backpack, so they are ready for adventures. And for the ultimate in de-stashing for maximum cuteness, these Wee Woodland Wuzzies are a great choice- using small amounts of yarn, the pattern comes with directions for 6 different woodland creatures that are all ready for the cold weather, with their little knitted scarves!
What do you think? Are you as excited to do some selfish knitting as I am, after seeing all these lovely things?
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